Absolute Lunacy


As we developed our master plan for moving from Utah to Michigan we kept coming up with two cars and only one driver for the final journey. So we solved the problem by selling the clunker of the two machines at a garage sale. Having done that, we decided to try life with one vehicle for a while to see how it went.


I told Sandy, “Well, we’ll get one little benefit even if it only lasts until we replace the second car. Our insurance costs will drop when I take one auto off our policy.”


The company increased our premium when I called to report that we now needed coverage for only one car. Flabbergasted, I phoned again to get another representative to confirm that decision. It was true—the company charged more to insure one car than two. It seemed a trifle illogical that one vehicle ran more risk of being involved in an accident than two. The representatives explained it all by stating that we no longer qualified for a “two-car discount.”


We had been with the company, a major national firm, for more than ten years. We had filed only a single claim for less that $200 in all that time. Our premium payment record was spotless.


The company was one of those that advertise significant percentage savings by switching to them. With profit-making strategies like the “one costs 10 percent more than two” plan, it’s no wonder they can make that sort of claim.


We promptly relieved the company of 100 percent of our business.